Water electrolysis plant in Japan

Pilot unit at a wind farm (Japan)

Wind turbines do not produce power continuously: The energy that they generate is heavily weather-dependent.

For this reason, energy suppliers and network operators will in the future need storage devices that can keep the network balanced. These will be able, for example, to absorb surplus electricity in high winds and supply this to the network in calm conditions.

This project is aiming to demonstrate the ability and flexibility to convert the surplus electricity by means of an improved and cost-optimized electrolyzer unit that breaks water down into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis. The resulting hydrogen can be stored for later use, as e.g. a hydrogen fueling station, or converted back to electricity (via a hydrogen internal combustion engine or fuel cell) and fed back to the grid during peak-demand hours.